Definition of Hinduism

Hinduism in its narrower sense, is the conglomeration of
religious beliefs and practices existing in India that have grown
out of ancient Brahminism, and which stand in sharp
contrast to orthodox, traditional Brahmanism today. Hinduism is the
popular, distorted, corrupted side of Brahminism. In its broad
sense, it comprises those phases of religious, social, and
intellectual life that are generally recognized in India today as
the legitimate outgrowth of ancient Brahmin institutions, and hence
are tolerated by the Brahmin priests as compatible with Brahmin
traditions. Far from being a uniform system of worship, Hinduism, in
this large sense, comprises, besides orthodox Brahminism, the
numerous sectarian developments of cult in honor of Vishnu, Siva,
and their associates, in which for centuries the great mass of the
people have found satisfaction for their religious cravings.

In
Hinduism, as distinguished from the heretical sects of India, it is
of minor importance what sort of worship is adopted, provided one
recognizes the supremacy of the Brahmins and the sacredness of
Brahmin customs and traditions. In the pantheistic all-god Brahma,
the whole world of deities, spirits, and other objects of worship is
contained, so that Hinduism adapts itself to every form of religion,
from the lofty monotheism of the cultivated Brahmin to the degraded
nature-worship of the ignorant, half savage peasant. Hinduism, to
quote Monier Williams, "has something to offer which is suited to
all minds. Its very strength lies in its infinite adaptability to
the infinite diversity of human characters and human tendencies. It
has its highly spiritual and abstract side suited to the
metaphysical philosopherits practical and concrete side suited to
the man of affairs and the man of the worldits esthetic and
ceremonial side suited to the man of poetic feeling and
imaginationits quiescent and contemplative side suited to the
man of peace and lover of seclusion. Nay, it holds out the right
hand of brotherhood to nature-worshippers, demon-worshippers,
animal-worshippers, tree-worshippers, fetish-worshippers. It does
not scruple to permit the most grotesque forms of idolatry, and the
most degrading varieties of superstition. And it is to this latter
fact that yet another remarkable peculiarity of Hinduism is mainly
duenamely, that in no other system in the world is the chasm
more vast which separates the religion of the higher, cultured, and
thoughtful classes from that of the lower, uncultured, and
unthinking masses" (Brahmanism and Hinduism, 1891, p. 11). Hinduism
is thus a national, not a world religion, it has never made any
serious effort to proselytize in countries outside of India. The
occasional visits of Brahmins to countries of Europe and America,
and their lectures on religious metaphysics are not to be mistaken
for genuine missionary enterprises. Not to speak of its grosser
phases, Hinduism, even in its highest form known as Brahminism,
could not take root and flourish in countries where the caste system
and the intricate network of social and domestic customs it implies
do not prevail.

Nor has Hinduism exercised any notable influence on
European thought and culture. The pessimism of Schopenhauer and his
school is indeed very like the pessimism of Buddhism and of the
Vedanta system of philosophy, and seems to have been derived from
one of these sources. But apart from this unimportant line of modern
speculation, and from the abortive theosophical movement of more
recent times, one finds no trace of Hindu influence on Western
civilization. We have nothing to learn from India that makes for
higher culture. On the other hand, India has much of value to learn
from Christian civilization.

According to the census of 1901, the total population of India is
a little more than 294,000,000 souls, of which 207,000,000 are
adherents of Hinduism. The provinces in which they are most numerous
are Assam, Bengal, Bombay, Berrar, Madras, Agra, and Oudh, and the
Central Provinces. Of foreign religions, Mohammedanism has, by dint
of long domination, made the deepest impression on the natives,
numbering in India today nearly 62,500,000 adherents. Christianity,
considering the length of time it has been operative in India, has
converted but an insignificant fraction of the people from Hinduism.
The Christians of all sects, foreign officials included, number but
2,664,000, nearly one-half being Catholics.

It was not till towards the end of the eighteenth century that
Europeansexcepting Father de Nobili and a few other early
missionariesacquired any knowledge of Sanskrit and allied
tongues in which the sacred literature of India was preserved. The
extensive commerce which the English developed in Bombay and other
parts of India gave occasion to English scholars to make extensive
studies in this new field of Oriental research. Sir William Jones
was one of the first European scholars to master Sanskrit and to
give translations of Sanskrit texts. He translated in 1789 one of
Kalidasa's classic dramas, the "Sakuntalã", and in 1794
published a translation of the "Ordinances of Manu". He founded, in
1784, the Royal Asiatic Society, destined to prove a powerful means
of diffusing the knowledge of Indian literature and institutions. An
able, but less famous, contemporary was the Portuguese missionary,
Father Paulinus a Sancto Bartholomeo, to whom belongs the honor of
composing the first European grammar of the Sanskrit tongue,
published at Rome in 1790. The first important study of Indian
literature and rites was made by Henry T. Colebrooke. His
"Miscellaneous Essays on the Sacred Writings and Religion of the
Hindus", first published in 1805, became a classic in this new field
of research. The collection was reedited in 1873 by Professor E. B.
Cowell, and is still a work of great value to the student of
Hinduism. Other distinguished scholars of England who contributed to
the knowledge of Brahminism and Hinduism were Horace H. Wilson,
author of a Sanskrit dictionary and of a translation of the Vishnu
Purana (1840) and other Hindu texts; John Muir, author of the great
work "Original Sanskrit Texts on the Origin and History of the
People of India, their Religions and Institutions" (5 vols., London,
1858-70), and Sir Monier Williams, whose work "Brahmanism and
Hinduism, Religious Thought and Life in India" (4th ed., London,
1891), is a masterly exposition of Hinduism. With these may be
associated Professor Max Müller, though whose exertions the
most important sacred texts of India as well as of other Oriental
lands have been made accessible to English readers in the well-known
collection, "The Sacred Books of the East". In America Professor
William D. Whitney made valuable contributions to the understanding
of the Atharva Veda and other Brahmin texts. His labors have been
ably supplemented by the studies of Professors C. R. Lanman, M.
Bloomfield, and E. W. Hopkins. The contributions of Continental
scholars to the knowledge of the literature and religions of India
are of the very greatest importance. The distinguished Orientalist
Eugène Burnouf, in the midst of his studies on Buddhism and
Zoroastrianism, found time to translate in part the "Bhagavata
Purana" (Paris, 1840). R. Roth and F. Kuhn made valuable studies on
the early Vedic texts, while Chr. Lassen produced his "Indische
Alterthumskunde" in four volumes (Bonn, 1844-61), a monument of
erudition. A. Weber, among other works in this field, published a
"History of Indian Literature" (English translation, London, 1892).
Eminent modern Indianists are A. Barth, author of the excellent
"Religions of India" (London, 1882), H. Oldenberg, and G.
Bühler, whose valuable translations of sacred texts may be
found in the "Sacred Books of the East". Among those who have made
valuable contributions to the study of Hinduism are a number of
Catholic priests. Besides Father Paulinus, already mentioned, are
the Abbé Roussel, who was chosen to assist in completing the
translation of the voluminous "Bhagavata Purana", begun by Burnouf,
and who has besides published interesting studies on Hinduism; the
Abbé Dubois, who published a masterly exposition of Modern
Hinduism under the title "Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies"
(Oxford, 1897); and Father J. Dahlmann, S. J. Finally, it is but
fair to note that considerable excellent work is being done by
native Hindu scholars in translating and interpreting sacred Hindu
texts. One of the most diligent is Nath Dutt, author of the
following works: "The Mahabharata, Translated Literally from the
Sanskrit Text", Parts I-XI (Calcutta, 1895-99); "The Bhagavadgita"
(Calcutta, 1893); "The Vishnu Purana Translated into English Prose"
(Calcutta, 1896). F. B. Pargiter has translated into English the
"Markandeya Purana", Fasc. i-vi (Calcutta, 1888-99), and E. P. C.
Roy, besides giving an English translation of the Mahabharata
(Calcutta. 1883-96), has published the "Sree Krishna" (Calcutta,
1901). M. Battacharya has published an interesting work entitled
"Hindu Castes and Sects" (Calcutta, 1896).